Hollow block wall construction



Sept. 10, 1957 A. SCHNELL ET AL HOLLOW BLOCK WALL CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov. 2. 1949 ll llllllllllll' I FIG. 1

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L m EM W .198 U.X Wu i ATTOR may United States Patent HOLLOW BLOCK WALL CONSTRUCTION August Schnell and Alex Bosshard, Zurich, Switzerland, assignors to Durisol A.-G. fiir Leichtbaustolfe, Dietikon, Switzerland Application November 2, 1949, Serial No. 125,102

Claims priority, application Switzerland November 6, 1948 1 Claim. (Cl. 72-29) This invention relates to a hollow block wall construction formed of superposed layers of hollow building blocks of a concrete material which is fire-proof, weatherproof and resistant against putrefaction.

In known wall constructions hollow blocks of mortar are used, the side walls of the blocks having to satisfy the static strain, while the hollow spaces, owing to the air cushion or to a loose filling material, serve as heat insulation. comprises hollow blocks of insulating material, for example of building cork, which is not load bearing, while the filling of mortar or concrete in the hollow spaces of the blocks form carrying columns which must carry the load of the building.

The inconveniences of the first mentioned known type of wall constructions reside in the insufiicient insulations and in the presence of cold temperature conducting bridges formed by the transverse walls and partitions of the hollow blocks and by the mortar joints. The second mentioned type of wall construction is intended to avoid these drawbacks, but results in a number of other serious defects. The building of walls is rendered difficult in that a special scaffolding is required for holding the blocks in position when filling the concrete in the hollow spaces of the blocks and during setting of the concrete. Since cork or like material is extremely heterogeneous with respect to concrete or mortar, it is particularly diflicult to apply the plaster finishing to the external side of the wall construction. When no putrefaction-proof material is used for the hollow blocks, the wall construction is endangered owing to the insufiicient adherence of the plaster layer. In case of a fire, the concrete columns of relatively reduced cross section may loose their lead carrying capacity owing to the action of heat after the hollow cork blocks have been burnt.

A further disadvantage of such known wall constructions is that the normal building process at the place of erection of the wall does not make certain that the relatively long and narrow hollow spaces of the hollow blocks are really completely filled with concrete, and the stitfness of the structure in the plane of the wall does not offer the desirable security for all possible conditions of load, even when using a foundation sill, wall columns and cross bars.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a hollow block wall construction which avoids the above mentioned inconveniences and disadvantages.

The invention consists in a wall construction composed of superposed hollow building blocks of weatherproof and fire-proof material which resists putrefaction, the hollow spaces of the blocks being filled with dense concrete so as to form a narrow meshwork skeleton of concrete enclosed within the hollow blocks, the concrete skeleton having to perform the static functions of the wall construction, while the hollow blocks forming the moulding for the concrete skeleton during erection of the wall serve as heat insulation, sound proofing and tire Another known hollow wall construction Patented Sept. 10, 1957 protection, and are adapted to receive the wall plaster and to protect the concrete skeleton against corrosion and prejudicial action of high or low temperatures.

The hollow building blocks are preferably made of a material which may be thoroughly bonded to concrete and plaster, and which keeps its shape also at high temperatures, such as for example cement bound, mineralised wood chips.

The hollow blocks form together with the concrete skeleton core an almost monolithic structure, and the block walls protect the concrete core against corrosion or mechanical injury, and in case of a fire, the load carrying concrete skeleton is protected from the prejudicial action of high temperatures. Any variations of shape of the load carrying skeleton work owing to the influence of heat or cold are prevented since the skeleton is completely enclosed in the hollow insulating blocks.

The invention will be described in detail in the accompanying drawings showing a preferred embodiment of our improved wall construction.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a hollow building block used in the wall construction according to the invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through a wall construction according to the invention.

Fig. 3 shows in elevation a wall construction employing a modified building block.

The hollow building block according to Fig. 1 com prises two longitudinal walls 1 and two transverse walls 2. A transverse partition wall 3 within the block divides the space limited by the longitudinal and transverse walls 1 and 2 in two compartments 4 and 5. The partition wall 3 is recessed at 6 so as to form a communication between the two compartments 4 and 5 of the block. The blocks are made of weather-proof and fire-proof material which is resistant against putrefaction, such as for example light-weight concrete, formed of cementbound, mineralised wood chips.

The hollow building blocks are preferably superposed in layers without binding material between adjacent blocks, superposed blocks being so staggered that a cornpartment 4 of one block is above a compartment 5 of the next lower block. The filling of the hollow compartments with dense concrete 8 is preferably made right after the placing of a layer of blocks, and when the wall construction has arrived at the desired height, the dense concrete filled into the superposed compartments forms vertical columns. The filling of the compartments with concrete can be effected by hand or by means of a mechanical pouring device. At these places where the recesses 6 are provided in the transverse'partitions 3, the concrete forms cross connections between adjacent concrete columns, so that a concrete skeleton in the shape of a narrow mesh grill work is built-up in the interior of the hollow blocks. These blocks thus constitute the moulding for forming the concrete skeleton in the course of erection of the wall.

The thickness of the side walls of the blocks, the size of the hollow spaces, and the transverse dimension of the blocks are so chosen, that the finished wall construction afiords itself a sufficient heat insulation without requiring additional insulating means, and that the wall may support its part of the load of the building. The dimensions of the blocks are moreover so that the empty compartments of at least one layer of blocks may be properly filled with concrete, without requiring any special means for maintaining the blocks in position when concrete is filled into the compartments, and when a further layer of blocks is superposed. The dimensions of the hollow blocks are also dependent on the requirements of an efficient manufacturing method, on the facility of handling at the place of erection of a wall, and

on the transport conditions. The internal and external finishing plaster is directly applied to the side walls 1 of the blocks.

The recesses 6 in the partition walls 3 maybe provided at any suitable zone in these partitions. They may be formed when moulding the blocks by a correspondingly shaped mold, or the partition as molded may extend over the entire height of the block and the recess may be formed later on by a milling or cutting operation or by breaking ofi a portion of the partition. The concrete skeleton within the superposed block is of considerable rigidity in the plane of the wall and transmits concentrated wall loads much better onto the foundation than a system of columns which is rendered rigid by cross members. The recesses of the transverse partitions also facilitate a complete filling of the hollow compartments with concrete.

An additional increased rigidity of the wall construction can be locally, obtained, for example at Window lintels, by providing recessed portions in all transverse walls of the blocks. in this manner cross connections are formed when concrete is filled into the horizontally communicating compartments and iron reinforcements may be placed in these cross connections. .Also the vertical columns may receive. reinforcements according to requirements.

The outer transverse walls 2 of the hollow blocks preferably are provided with spaced vertical ribs 7, the ribs on opposite sides of one block being staggered so that the ribs of adjacent blocks in the wall construction interengage, thus providing a heat sealing joint between adjacent blocks.

In the example of the wall construction according to Fig. 3, the hollow blocks 1' are formed Without an intermediary transverse partition wall; they only comprise two longitudinal and two transverse Walls limiting together a single undivided compartment.

Weclaim:

A wall construction comprising a plurality of hollow self-sustaining and rigid building blocks formed from,

cement-bonded mineralized wood chips having insulating properties but having low load supporting characteristics, the blocks in one course of said wall being staggered with respect to the blocks in the adjacent courses, each of said blocks having a top, a bottom, side walls and end walls and a transverse partition parallel to the end walls and extending between the side walls to divide the interior of the block into two compartments, said partition being substantially flush with the bottom of the block and having a vertical recess extending downwardly from the top of the block substantially half the height of said partition and said side walls and end walls whereby to provide direct communication between half of said two compartments of the block, the said compartments and the said recesses of the blocks in the wall being filled with concrete to form within the plurality of superposed courses of blocks a concrete skeleton comprising a plurality of unitary vertical columns extending the entire height of the wall interconnected through the recesses in the blocks by link portions having a thickness substantially half the height of each block to form a substantially monolithic load-sustaining structure, said interconnected vertical concrete columns serving to relieve the hollow blocks from load-carrying forces, said blocks in said well forming a shell completely enclosing said interconnected concrete columns and serving as a mold when said columns are poured, the outer surfaces of the end walls of each of said blocks being formed with a pair of vertical ribs inwardly spaced from the side walls and spaced from one another by a distance substantially equal to the width of the ribs, the ribs on one end wall being offset with respect to the ribs on the other end wall by a distance equal to the width of a rib, whereby the ribs on laterally adjacent blocks interlock to form a seal between the blocks and to retain the blocks in laterally and longitudinally aligned position.

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